Posts in Category: 'CAE Vendor/Supplier'

This book is intended to be a companion to the NAFEMS book, "An Introduction to the Use of Material Models in FE". It informs Finite Element Analysis users of the manner and methodologies by which materials are tested in order to calibrate material models currently implemented in various FEA programs. While the authors seek first to satisfy the basic material models outlined in the companion book, they make important extensions to FEA used in currently active areas including explicit simulation.

The Export to ANSA capability for nonlinear CAE applications is included in Matereality v9. Once your Matereality database has been populated with CAE Material files, you can select the ones appropriate for your analysis and export them to a master material file for ANSA. Then use the ANSA plug-in to import it, and apply the desired material file to your analysis.

Thermoplastic materials are one of the largest categories of materials to be injection molded. Moisture-sensitive materials can lead to issues in the molding process. Simulation of the injection molding process requires sophisticated and exact material properties to be measured. This presentation discusses the testing required to characterize a thermoplastic material for use in SIGMASOFT, as well as the effects of moisture on viscosity measurement of a moisture-sensitive material. Consequences of basing designs on wet or dry materials are covered. Implementation of material data into the software to produce a successful injection molding simulation simulation is described.

With the growing interest in additive manufacturing in the aerospace industry, there is a desire to accurately simulate the behavior of components made by this process. The layer by layer print process appears to create a morphology that is different from that from conventional manufacturing processes. This can have dramatic impact on the material properties, which in turn, can affect how the material is modeled in simulation. We tested an additively manufactured metal part for mechanical properties and validated the material model used in a linear static simulation.

The use of CAE in design decision-making has created a need for proven simulation accuracy. The two areas where simulation touches the ground are with material data and experimental verification and validation (V&V). Precise, well designed and quantitative experiments are key to ensure that the simulation initiates with correct material behavior. Similar validation experiments are needed to verify simulation and manage the risk associated with this predictive technology.

As part of Cornell University's mechanical engineering curriculum and study of classical beam theory, an aluminium beam is deformed to a specific load. Theoretical strains are calculated at certain points along the beam using beam theory, and then verified by using strain gauges placed at these points on the beam. This experiment is then extended to simulation of the same test setup in simulation software, where strains are analyzed at the same points. Discrepancies between the simulation, theory, and strain gauge results have often plagued the test, especially when incorporating more complex beam design. Through use of digital image correlation (DIC) it is possible to pinpoint some of the problem areas in the beam analysis and provide a better understanding of the localized strains that occur at any point in the deformed beam. The use of DIC provides a full field validation of simulation data, rather than a single spot check that strain gauges can provide. This validation technique helps to eliminate error that is associated with strain gauge placement and the possibility of missing strain hot spots that can arise when analyzing complex deformations or geometries.

There is interest in quantifying the differences between simulation and real life experimentation. This kind of work establishes a baseline for more complex simulations bringing a notion of traceability to the practice of CAE. We present the use of digital image correlation as a way to capture strain fields from component testing and compare these to simulation. Factors that are important in ensuring fidelity between simulation and experiment will be discussed.

Today, CAE is integrated with modern automotive product development. This creates new challenges for departments that support new product development. In the materials arena, the testing is elevated to much higher levels of sophistication and precision to accommodate the complex material models used in CAE. It is no longer simple matter to convert raw data into material model parameters. We present an end-to-end strategy that gives automakers a well managed pathway to transforming to simulation-based design. We operate a quick-turnaround expert material testing lab to support high-end CAE and product development. We provide a data management software designed specifically to capture and display material data of any complexity. The software can transform raw material data into material parameter files for most commonly used simulations. The CAE Modeler software is of adequate sophistication to fit equations to data, visualize material models along with raw data, and output material cards. Examples for high strain-rate crash material modeling will be presented.

We present a perspective on material modeling as applied to mold analysis requirements. Melt-solid transitions and the case for a unified material model are discussed, along with prediction of post-filling material behavior and shrinkage, and the impact of viscous heating on flow behavior and material degradation.